July 8th storm assessment

The storm that rumbled through eastern Kansas on Wednesday left quite a path of destruction in its wake.

The National Weather Service in Topeka sent out a storm survey team out to assess the damage caused by that long-lived storm and now has a report up for review.

While the storm seemed to pick up some steam in Douglas County where there were numerous damage reports from wind in the western reaches of the county near Stull and Clinton, the bulk of the energy was focused in the counties to our south.

Radar estimates and field verification estimate that peak winds within the storm in Anderson and Franklin counties were between 80-100 mph. Some of the hardest hit areas were near Ottawa where about 300 power poles were broken or damaged.

The municipal airport near Ottawa sustained substantial damage as well. The National Weather Service has determined that the damage from this storm was caused by straight-line winds in about a 4 mile-wide corridor, trailing from Douglas County through southern Anderson County.